Monday, July 19, 2010

The Mingulay Boat Song

This appears to be a song, like many popular "Renn Faire" folk songs these days, written as if it were an ancient Celtic tune. In fact, it's a creation of the 20th Century. Another example, the very popular "Wild Mountain Thyme," was written in 1957 and is even still under copyright. According to the (completely un-sourced and therefore suspect) Wikipedia entry for The Mingulay Boat Song, the lyrics were written as recently as 1937, though the usual tune is much older.

These two tunes have an interesting history, nonetheless. - at least around the Sterling Renaissance Festival. The final event of each day's festival program is the Pubsing, where the whole cast and many of the musicians gather to sing songs and end the day. It's a very nice gathering, almost a ceremony. You can look at the book of sheet music available at the faire's Remembrance Shoppe to see how much the Pubsing has changed in the last 15-20 years, but while some of the songs may be different, the spirit remains the same. And then, as now, the final song of the Pubsing is dedicated to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth I of England, whom the festivities are meant to be honoring.

The cast at the faire, by and large, must audition for their parts every year, and some of the actors and roles change from season to season. Certain of the cast members, however, are consistently the same and, for all I know, have the roles "locked in." Either way, the Queen role has tended to be played by the same actress year after year after year. A few years ago, long-running Queen Baj Burinski retired after some 15+ years, which was sort of a big deal. The new Queen Elizabeth, Maria Wechsler, also has other important jobs in the training of the actors for the faire, and I presume that the prior Queen did as well. As such, this actress is much like the actual Queen in the way she leads the players to success year after year. I have no doubt that her retirement was a major event for the cast. Sadly, I've recently learned that Baj passed away shortly thereafter.

The final song of the Pubsing, as I mentioned, is dedicated to the Queen. Previously, this song had been "Wild Mountain Thyme," a lovely and very popular song of love and togetherness that was a great fit both as a tribute to Her Majesty and as an end to the day's festivities. When the former Queen actor stepped down, the festival actually retired that song, as a tribute to her. They no longer perform it at all during the Pubsing (which is a downer if you're a fan of the song, but most likely you can find it performed by one of the other bands somewhere during the day). For the "coronation" of the new Queen, they introduced a completely different song - one that I'd never heard anywhere at the festival before - the Mingulay Boat Song. The idea was that the Queen was like a ship's captain, sailing the "ship" of England through troubled waters and home to loved ones. Presumably, if Ms. Wechsler retires at some point, they'll retire that song as well. But, for now, it's a very nice end to each wonderful day at the Sterling Renaissance Festival.

The version of the song they perform is, as far as I can tell, unique. It mixes lyrics from at least two different versions of the song that I was able to find online, and changes some of the particulars of the wording as well. For those who might like to sing along at the Pubsing or perform it at home, I give you the Mingulay Boat Song:

Mingulay Boat Song

Intro: [G]

Chorus:
[G] Heel yo ho, boys, [D] let 'er [G] go, boys,
Keep her [D] head 'round [G] into the [C] weather;
Heel yo [G] ho, boys, [D] let her [G] go, boys,
Sailing [D] homeward [G] to [C] Mingu- [G] lay.

[G] What care we though, [D] white the [G] Minch is,
What care [D] we for [G] wind or [C] weather?
Let her [G] go, boys, [D] every [G] inch is
Sailing [D] homeward [G] to [C] Mingu- [G] lay.

Chorus:
[G] Heel yo ho, boys, [D] let 'er [G] go, boys,
Keep her [D] head 'round [G] into the [C] weather;
Heel yo [G] ho, boys, [D] let her [G] go, boys,
Sailing [D] homeward [G] to [C] Mingu- [G] lay.

[G] Wives are waiting [D] by the [G] pier heads, or
Looking [D] seaward [G] from the [C] heather;
Pull her [G] 'round, boys, [D] and we'll [G] anchor,
Ere the [D] sun sets [G] on [C] Mingu- [G] lay.

Chorus:
[G] Heel yo ho, boys, [D] let 'er [G] go, boys,
Keep her [D] head 'round [G] into the [C] weather;
Heel yo [G] ho, boys, [D] let her [G] go, boys,
Sailing [D] homeward [G] to [C] Mingu- [G] lay.

(Softly)
[G] Ship’s return now [D] heavy [G] laden
Mothers [D] holdin’ [G] bairns a- [C] cryin’
They’ll re- [G] turn, though [D] ere the [G] sun sets
They’ll [D] return [G] to [C] Mingu- [G] lay.

Chorus (x2):
[G] Heel yo ho, boys, [D] let 'er [G] go, boys,
Keep her [D] head 'round [G] into the [C] weather;
Heel yo [G] ho, boys, [D] let her [G] go, boys,
Sailing [D] homeward [G] to [C] Mingu- [G] lay.

We’re sailing [D] home-ward [G] to [C] Mingu- [G] lay.

2 comments:

  1. Thank you for writing about this! The Pubsing is one of my favorite parts of the Festival. I wasn't aware of the background of the closing song, and for some reason started searching for information about it today.

    The version the Sterling Festival uses seems to be substantially the same as Jim Hancock's from his album "Rolling Home" -- since he performs at the Festival, I wouldn't be surprised if he suggested it.

    It can be heard on the Renaissance Festival Podcast #53 (about 54 minutes in) at http://renaissancefestivalmusic.com/2006/07/renaissance-festival-podcast-53-pirate-music-and-feature-on-pirates-of-the-caribbean-deadmans-chest/
    (look for the minuscule "Download this week’s podcast" link just above the listing of songs).

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  2. Welcome, Peter! Thanks for stopping by (and commenting). I'm also a huge fan of the pubsing and can thank some folks at the renaissancefestival.com forums for helping me first identify the Mingulay Boat Song.

    As to Mr. Hancock, I believe he's the musical director for the Sterling faire, so I'm sure you're correct that the version of the song they perform at the Pubsing was his idea. Thanks also for the podcast link - I'll check it out.

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